hello!! I'm back with a random but fun lil deep dive into teen pop stars & mall culture... enjoy! // Thanks to today's sponsor, Peach & Lily! Use my code TIFFANYF for 20% off the Peach & Lily collection sitewide for all first time customers! www.peachandlily.com/collections/peach-lily-collection?
Ok I already wrote a wicked long comment explaining my own mall tour memory but just wanted to pop in again as a subcomment too and say I loved this video! I hope RU-vid pushes it better, not sure why it wouldn’t but RU-vid didn’t recommend it to me at all or give me a notification which is weird because I have them turned on for you and just double checked!
I wish in this video you talked about the mall tours of the 2010s. A lot of HUGE musically stars or vine stars like baby Ariel had HUGE mall tours in the mid-late 2010s that were sold out to the brim with teens. They weren’t “pop stars” but generally teens who gathered large followings/fanbases on these apps and just so happened to release a single to go along with their newly found fame. But, you were probably a grown adult by then. Assuming you most likely didn’t know much about them.
I grew up in Milwaukee and we had no mall performances in the early 2000’s. That I know of. Only loud, annoying music blaring from hollister & Abercrombie.
@@lindseystein9676 Also grew up in Milwaukee (graduated HS in 2002) and I can confirm that. No mall concerts whatsoever. And yes, annoying loud music from Abercrombie and Hollister ugh
I saw Avril Lavigne at a mall in the suburbs in Colorado. I was already in my punk/goth phase and had "outgrown" Avril, but went for the "nostalgia". It was an acoustic show, but some girls near me were like "OMG what if someone starts a moshpit".
This is how I met Ariana grande, Debbie Ryan, and Nathan Kress. They did a mall meet & greet together lol. Kind of a weird group to stick together but I had fun ditching school to go see them.
I'm so glad you mentioned "The Third Place" and I'm so glad more people are becoming aware of how painfully lacking our (American) society is becoming in them.
It truly does suck. As a teen I really don’t have too many places to go without spending money. My friends and I go to the Library, parks, and the one mall near us as Third Places, but otherwise there’s nowhere to go where we don’t have to spend money to be there. As much as I love my local coffee shop it’s really expensive after a while
I wonder if not having things like this at the mall is contributing to malls dying? They used to have events at the mall in general, like we would go and see the decorations at Christmas time, or a pop up art thing. Some of them had skating rinks or aquariums. It was a destination, something to do. Get an orange Julius and go look at the.. whatever.
I've also noticed that well designed and decorated malls do better than ones that are super dated and left to fall into disrepair. The mall I worked at in my home town was so sad looking and people only went to go to the movies or the few random stores that still drew people in (bath and body works mostly). Otherwise, there was nothing there worth doing or even looking at! However, the mall in the big city near me is gorgeous! Its so well designed and decorated that juts going to the mall feels special and cool. And they have a lot of brands that you can't get other places unless you order online and some really good restaurants!
I saw Ashley Tisdale in my local mall as a kid when she was promoting her album “Headstrong.” This was right in the middle of the HSM craze so the mall was a madhouse - every child in the tri state area was there with their mom. Ashley performed a 15 minute set, most of which was drowned out by cheering, and then she left 😅 I was so confused lol
I remember seeing Raven Symone at the mall during the Cheetah Girls 1 and That's So Raven hype days. My BFF met her and got signed CDs. It was PACKED there and I was just gagged to be breathing the same air as Raven lol.
I met Raven Symone at Disney World in 2004 where she had a stop on this tour! She performed a 30 minute set and then signed autographs! I was the last person in line for the autographs 😱
Having a nostalgia for mall culture makes sense because malls were a bit like an equalizer between peers, rich and poor kids could make their way there, and know about the trends based on the shop displays and gossip that went down there because it was a free space. We don't really have that for kids now, with things being online it's a silo'd space and keeping up with "gossip" and trends is that much harder, there's no equalizer space now as popularity is more visible now than ever, and on a global scale. Okay damn you got me thinking about this too deeply too. Great video!
Ok but as a non-American I have always been fascinated by this concept which I've heard a lot about mentioned in pop culture. I live in a tropical country so malls are still big (and pretty fancy) here, no one wants to get sweaty while shopping. Kpop stars do performances in malls sometimes but nothing like American mall tours. Also whoa your 80's pop star look is so good!! Edit: Oh man it would've been SO COOL to see Avril do Complicated at a mall!!
In countries where those kind of starts never appeared (southwest Europe) teenage magazines used to organize thematic meetups dedicated to a certain celebrity. I remember being 13 and going to Avril Lavigne thematic meetup in a mall, organized by one of the teenage magazines everyone was crazy about. There was a quiz and a Avril-lookalike contest, and the awards were her perfumes lol.
tiffany I am glad you are creating video essays about random stuff that catches your interest. I'll watch all of it because you always manage to make it fascinating!
I finally have a reason to tell this bizarre story: When I was in middle school, the Twilight movie had JUST came out and the world had not freaked out about it yet. Peter Facinelli (Edward’s dad/the town doctor) did one of these mall tours and was stopping at the only mall near me. It is a very small mall in an insignificant, small city in Michigan which made it even more strange lol. I loved those books and wanted to go so bad, but it was on a school day so I wasn’t allowed. The next day in the lunch line at school, a girl next to me had a signed picture with him 😭😭🤣
my introduction to mall tours was fifth harmony's in 2013 and i honestly had no idea they had a whole history behind them i was just like why are these girls singing next to a forever21????? guess their management was a bit stuck in the past lol. great video!!
I never got to see a mall performance like this, but man did this make me nostalgic for just going to the mall as a kid/tween, back when I had no concept of $, responsibilities, and literally thought I needed that long, fake gold, bejeweled owl necklace from Delia's or I was gonna die. The mall was like a sanctuary for me as a young person, even though i never had any money - now I actively avoid it. 😅
I love the fact that this video was born just because you were interested in googling this topic and sharing it with us! Nothing makes a content more interesting that a creator passionately expressing their interest! For real!
I grew up near Mall of America and in the 00s lots of disney and adjacent teens would come (Jonas Brothers, Ashley Tisdale, Justin Bieber, Jesse McCartney, etc.) but they were almost always in the middle of the day on a week day so you had to have 1. a parent not working during a tuesday afternoon to take you and 2. a parent willing to pull you out of school to scream over Nick Jonas - sadly but understandably my parents were not those people so I never actually got to see any of them
Yess I saw that so many of these performances were at MOA! Makes sense since it’s such a massive mall. But yeah having the meet and greets or performances during a school day is a strange choice? I would be so sad as a kid during that time hahaha
I saw Avril Lavigne in Florence, KY during her mall tour. I was, I think, 14. It was so surreal being at a concert in the middle of our tiny mall, but it was pretty cool.
This is still extremely common in other parts of the world, in Thailand they do meet and greets of celebrities in malls all the time, often sponsored by some brand or specific store (aesthetic clinics and beauty brands seem common). They don't even necessarily sing (although some do) they just like wave and talk and it attracts a decent crowd.
When I was 13 and 14 years-old, I had the privilege of performing Christmas music with my flute at my local mall. I know it’s not the same scale as a mall tour, but it allowed me to get a glimpse of performing at a mall.
Not a pop star, but I grew up watching “Full House” and in the mid-90s, I went to see Candice Cameron Bure at the Arden Fair mall in Sacramento. The crowd was massive, and the most I saw of Candice was as a tiny dot in the middle, waving like some pageant Queen. Feels like some kind of fever dream now.
Tiffany, as a college student who is studying history and is obsessed with a 1980s your look was pretty spot on. You look like everyone would’ve looked like in the mall concerts of Mrs Tiffany! I was excited you brought her up! I listen to that song on repeat. I am also obsessed with mall culture! please more 1980s and 2000s videos that would be so rad so and cool lolz!
I recently watched a Billboard top hits for every year of the 80s and was amazed how many times singer Tiffany and Debbie Gibson had top hits. I guess I didn't pay attention... their journey of performing in malls is iconic
I met Emily Osment at a local mall in 2009, I don't even think she was there to perform a concert but it was just a meet and greet. It's one of my favorite stories to tell people because it's so random 😂 I think it was in part with Verizon because I remember meeting her in a Verizon store, so I definitely agree with your point on mall tours being focused mostly on the commercial aspects rather than the celebrity's performance (or in this case just appearance) itself.
I remember back in 2004 Zumiez hosted what was called the couch tour, which one of my favorite bands performed at the time, Sum41. Absolutely loved it! It was outside the mall because they also had ramps set up since they toured with pro skate boarders . It was so much fun!
the look for Brittney's tour is so cute omg! its cool to see you speaking about random topics that haven't been covered especially when we can tell you're really interested in it
I remember meeting a shit ton of childhood actors at my local mall: Zendaya, Bella Thorne, Jennifer Stone, and Jake T Austen. (even Carlisle from Twilight) It’s crazy that they made them do that
I remember references to mall tours in Simpsons, South Park, and Weekenders as well. It was a pop culture thing for boy bands and pop singers to perform at the mall 🤷♀️
Hey, when I was a tween it was all about the mall and the hope of seeing Debbie Gibson, Tiffany or any other "POP teeny bopper" group back then! They were all over the concert mall scene. Gen X!
Yes, for us Gen Xers, the mall was the 80s answer to social media. You not only hung out with teens from your school, but you got to meet and befriend teens from other schools. Plus, you got to see senior citizens, dressed in their bright, nylon track suits, use the mall as their walking track.
Yup, GenX here too. I’m in the UK so we watched from afar, but I’m a similar age to Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, and it blew my mind at the time that they were my age and famous pop stars.
Wow I didn’t want this video to end! Unlocking a memory of my best friend, who was obsessed with the mid 2000s Canadian teen drama Instant Star. She thought they were doing a mall tour, so I spent the weekend with her and her mom drove us and her little brother to our local mall, walking round confused only to find out it was only cardboard cutouts of the cast 😂
I never got to see a mall concert, but one time my friend and I were shopping at the biggest mall here in my city and randomly saw 🎶 Jason Derulo 🎶 signing autographs at Wetseal. we were like wtf is all this noise. Then we walked upstairs and saw him, a sign of him outside the store and a long line. Lolol teenage memories
I saw short-lived boy band Dream Street at a mall in 2001. It was announced the day off and I begged my mom to take me and a friend. It was unbelievably crowded and chaotic (from my 7 year old perspective) and now a core memory
omg Tiffany, Glee held these public auditions in the mall and i also performed an Avril Lavigne song. i didn’t make the final cut but i remember a shot of my performance was in like the Sacramento newspaper and i thought that was like the coolest thing ever. i think there’s even like a cringy video of me with my 16 year old scene haircut talking about it somewhere on one of my channels. this was such a nostalgic walk down memory lane, thanks for another great vid!
as someone that saw many groups and britney during the mall tours back in the day, i was really hoping for a deep dive into mall tours rather than a origin story
The one that I remember vividly was when Candace Cameron Bure came to our mall before Full House was over and signed autographs. I was in line with so many others and she stopped signing before I got to her. It was so disappointing. I also remember lots of mall modeling calls. Especially Lisa Frank (who is based in my home town of Tucson). The mall was the place to go. Now I go to that same mall and find it depressing. I wish they would revitalize the malls and at least make them something of value instead of letting them rot and get creepy.
And it wasn’t even just malls. My mom has seen huge artists in the 80s and 90s at rollerskating rinks, high schools, small little local clubs, parks. In that time seeing live music was so much more accessible than it is now. I never saw a mall concert but the mall that I lived near was a really famous small so we would get a bunch of different celebrities doing meat and greets, I met Cody Simpson, I met the final five gymnastics girls, and then some other smaller celebrities and athletes.
i don't what it is about this video, but it was perfect. the 'i googled ths and now listen to my infodump' vibe, the outfits, the obscurity of the topic, the nostalgia. just perfect viewing during tea time
I remember this! I also remember when Hot Topic used to occasionally host garage bands inside the store throughout the early to mid 2000s! So wild. 😂 (Born and raised in midwestern US, for reference)
@@angietoonz6605 I know!! 😂 they’d always somehow manage to squeeze them into the checkout area and just use one of the registers! 😆 not sure if all Hot Topics did this or just some, but it was pretty awesome when they did!🤘
reminds me of when bands and musicians in the 2000s-10s would perform at waterparks and barnes and noble, specifically. barnes and noble always reminds me of a library so it’s so strange to have a musician perform a live dance performance in the middle of the historical fiction section.
I saw We The Kings at my local mall in 2008. There was a good 200 kids in the crowd bc Hot Topic had done a bit of local promotion about it beforehand and it was the height of their "Check Yes, Juliet" single. Somewhere in my dead Photobucket account, I have a grainy flip-phone video of the singer exclaiming into the mic "we love you old lady! don't run away, we're really nice, we promise!" as an old lady shopper saw the crowd of teenagers in front of the Macy's & quickly did a 180 away lmao
Lmao this reminds me of when I was in high school, the women's choir I was in went to the Mall of America and Cody Simpson was randomly there doing a book signing and a little concert.
I saw one of Cody Simpson’s mall tours and met him and his dad. LOL. Gotta love 2010 in the Midwest. I also met Jennette McCurdy during her mall tour! 🤩
the fifth harmony mall tour era was my fav era tbh. also then they did a CD signing mall tour like a year later and that was incredible as well. such a nice way to see someone you like early in their career in such an intimate setting if you're lucky!
I care a lot that you are enjoying this topic and that this video did not represent an overwhelming stressful task for you, It’s tricky when your dream becomes so heavy and I can relate a lot to that. whatever sparks joy for Tiffany, that’s what I want to see more often!! Hugs ❤
I'm so old, I look to see if anyone else remembers "I Think We're Alone Now" constantly being played at the roller rink and while I didn't really expect any other elder millennials to pipe up, I'm met with tons of comments about meeting celebs in malls but in the mid-2000s and later. I dunno, something about me more excited to think about Tiffany, but others talking about Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez made me feel old lol.
Taylor Swift performed at a tree lighting shin dig at my outlet mall one year. I'm in Arizona & the time our town was so small, she was my age, no one knew her, we were all so unfazed that she was there
The mall tourrrrr 🤩 iconiccc. I remember Kim kardashian came to my local mall when I was in junior high. Right as she was starting to be famous. I think she was just singing autographs lol
I was too young for mall tours but I remember when I was REALLY young my mom took me and my sister to the mall to get autographs from the cast of ZOOM! anyone remember that old PBS show?
It’s funny because Ava Max recently went to a Sam’s Club, so it’s kinda not dead… but that says a lot. And this is the one ad I can vouch for, I love the Peach and Lily cleanser!
Your wardrobe: impressively on point. Your analysis: thorough and thoroughly interesting! But my heart breaks for Tiffany and all the abused, neglected, taken-advantage-of child stars. Maybe minors who make large amounts of money need to be assigned a fiduciary whose duty is to the child and not the parent or agent or anyone else. I could argue that they shouldn't be working in the first place, but I know better than to think that's going to happen.
I remember the Jonas Brothers performed at my childhood mall (which has since been torn down). I know a lot of artists had partnerships with stores like F.Y.E., which is why they had mall meet & greets. If you bought a copy of their album from F.Y.E. and showed proof, you got a wristband to be able to meet the artist(s).
I love the addition of the videos with your friends! That’s how my friends and I would hang out too as kids but our town was so small that the biggest attraction at our mall was Kmart, a small JCPenney, and that one store with a bunch of sports memorabilia that I never bought anything from. We seriously had nothing better to do 😂
I met Nobody's Angel at Mall of America when I was about 2. I remember the girls were all fawning over me because I was a toddler and cute but I thought they were all so cool.
I saw Ashlee Simpson at an outdoor mall concert when I was a teen! This was Orange County, California and it was the best day…many teen acts performed but Ashlee is all I truly remember lol. my first “mall tour” was going to see Barbie at target when I was like 3…another best day of my life I can remember vividly lol. And Tiffany (the singer) is from my town. Love this video lol.
Wow, that was weird! Thanks Tiffany! I still can't figure out whether we won or lost with malls being gone now lol. The social asepct was never really replaced.
glee held these public auditions in the mall and i also performed an Avril Lavigne song. i remember a shot of my performance was in like the Sacramento newspaper and i thought that was like the coolest thing ever. i think there’s even like a cringy video of me with my 16 year old scene haircut talking about the experience somewhere on one of my channels. this was such a nostalgic walk down memory lane, thanks for another great vid!
I saw Drake Bell Live at a mall tour once in like 2007 or something XD He signed my bag that I was wearing at the time and I got a Signed CD. He sounded like shit but I still loved it! lol
i grew up in bloomington mn and i’m glad that i did because it’s home to the mall of america. i always had the chance to meet a celeb i adored (or even hated), because if somebody is doing mall shows/tours, they almost always perform in the largest mall in the US
I went to a mall tour in 2009! It was hosted by Journeys and Vans. Mayday Parade and Anberlin played. A huge chunk of the parking lot was blocked off for it. It was part concert, part BMX show, with dozens of booths with activities, for free! I often look back on this event while purchasing 3 figure concert tickets nowadays
I heard Paramus NJ and instantly got homesick for Garden State Mall 🥲. I moved away from NJ nine years ago and haven't been back 😭. I wouldn't be surprised if the malls are dying there though lol
I was telling my boyfriend how when I was around 13-15 my parents would just drop my sister and I off at the mall and we would hang out with our friends unsupervised and he was so confused lol
I saw Selena Gomez at the mall in like 2010ish! It was so crowded though we left and went ended up watching her get into her car from the parking structure😂
Big companies take their talent on the road to small towns and malls now for a "free concert" gains them loyal fans before the build up of a real tour.
i remember randomly going to the mall with a couple of my friends when i was a pre-teen, which was already a big event in and of itself as it was a parent-free trip for us kids, and as soon as we entered the mall we could hear music blasting from the center court so we immediately ran towards the sound and were shocked and delighted to find swollen members performing on stage! i think this was around 2002 or 2003 so they were at the height of their canadian popularity with the songs "fuel injected", "watch this", and "breathe" which featured nelly furtado. it was such a surreal experience, and definitely one we did not shut up about at school for like an entire week!
I loved the video, even though I'm Brazilian and we didn't have mall tours, as someone born in 89 that always loved American pop culture it's almost as if the mall tours made part of my youth, as the magazines I consumed showed my favorite pop artists doing their American mall tours! NGL I'm surprised you didn't mention the 90210's cast iconic mall tour! Yes, they weren't pop stars, but they did have one of the most intense mall tours ever!
I'm mexican and I do remember seeing some mall tours here in my mexican hometown so the weird marketing strategy definitely caught up in some other countriesvas well
I was a very young child in the late-‘90s, and I vividly remember Belk, a local department store, having a fashion show while a band played. Malls really were a cultural staple and it’s hard to explain to kids who grew up during the death of the mall.
i remember a few random performances at my local mall when i was a kid (i really specifically remember seeing yhe wiggles lmao) but also sabrina carpenter performed at my mall in 2017 which felt INSANE because i feel like she was already pretty popular by then
i appreciate the 0:29 example of busking in chicago seeing as it is so time consuming and expensive to get a license to do it in the city let alone on train stops, made me very weirdly proud u used this clip as opposed to showing more well known places for busking
Great video! I hope you do more videos on topics that you enjoy, just hearing you critique, give perspective and info about anything is very fun to watch. This one was a nice flashback, even though I was a baby for most of it. The 80s-2000s is always a fun time to look back on, style and culturally.
I met Big Time Rush when they did mall(ish) tours for their first two albums, in 2010 and 2011. The first one was in the baby clothes section of a Wal Mart and the second was at an electronics store inside the mall. They didn't perform, but they signed albums and were able to chat a little! It was really fun, they were nice.
